Sprinkler head and nozzle for producing non-circular spray patterns



Sept 8 J. o. HRUBY, JR 2,854,23

SPRINKLER HEAD AND NOZZLE FOR PRODUCING NON-CIRCULAR SPRAY PATTERNS Filed July 30, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 JOHN G. HPUEV, JR,

INVENTOR.

HUE'B/VE R,BE/1'LE R, WORREL 5 HERZ/Gr ATTORNEYS,

p 1958 J. o. HRUBY, JR 2,854,283

SPRINKLER HEAD AND MUZZLE FOR PRODUCING NON-CIRCULAR SPRAY PATTERNS Filed July so, 1956 a Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHN 0. H/PUBV, JR

IN VEN TOR.

HUE'B/VER, HE E HLER,

WOPREL 8 HERZ/G,

ATTORNEYS- Sept. 30, 1958 J. OZHRUBY, JR 2,854,233

v SPRINKLER HEAD AND NOZZLE FOR PRODUCING NON-CIRCULAR SPRAY PATTERNS Filed July 30, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JOHN O. H/PUBY, JR,

IN VEN TOR.

HUEBNER, BEEHLER,

WORREL 8 HERZ/G,

' ATTORNEYS- United States SPRINKLER HEAD AND NOZZLE FOR PRODUC- lNG NON-CTRQULAR SPRAY PATTERNS John 0. Hrub .lr. Burbank Calif. assi nor b mesne a s 3 a y assignments, to Rain Set orporation, Burbank, Calif., a corporation Application July 30, 1956, erial No. 600,800

9 Claims. (Cl. 299-13) improved sprinklers and nozzles of the type illustrated and described in Letters Patent of the United States, Nos. 2,589,942 and 2,639,191, issued to me on March 18, 1952, and May 19, 1953, respectively.

Sprinkler heads and nozzles of the type referred to above are characterized by a stern disposed longitudinally in a sprinkler or nozzle body and arranged to be both rotated on the stem axis and gyrated in the body. In those cases where the stem is tubular and has orifices formed therein for spraying fluids over a large area, the sprays of fluid from such orifices are caused to move entirely around the sprinkler head and also to move upwardly and downwardly for even distribution of water over a large circular area around the sprinkler.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved sprinkler designed to produce non-circular spray patterns.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler of the above mentioned character, but which has the stem thereof loosely keyed in the sprinkler body, whereby the stem does not rotate on its axis.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lawn sprinkler which is adapted to produce an elongate, generally rectangular spray pattern, especially well suited for sprinkling long and narrow parkways, for example, without spraying water on a street or sidewalk contiguous the parkway.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler which is designed to spray water in a generally triangular pattern.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear during the course of the following part of this specification, wherein the details of construction and mode of operation of several embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of a lawn sprinkler embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross section through the sprinkler taken on line 2-2 of Pig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the sprinkler on an enlarged scale taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, 6, 8, and 10 are perspective views of different embodiments of the spray heads for the sprinkler, such heads being designed for producing particular spray patterns;

Figs. 5, 7, 9 and 11 are diagrammatic views illustrating spray patterns produced by the spray head of Figs. 4, 6, 8 and 10, respectively, the spray heads being shown in cross-section and on a greatly enlarged scale with respect to their corresponding spray patterns; and

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation, illustrating the distribution of water in a spray as produced by sprinklers of this invention.

atent Q Referring to the drawing in greater detail and with the use of reference numerals, a sprinkler head embodying the invention is shown and designated generally by reference numeral 15, the same being mounted by means of screw threads on the upper end of a vertically extending riser 16, such riser being part of a conventional lawn sprinkler conduit system.

Sprinkler head 15 comprises a tubular body 19, which in the illustrated embodiment is cylindrical and circular in cross-section. It has an axially extending cavity or passage formed therein, which passage is preferably of circular cross-section. The inside walls of the body defining the passage are designated by reference numeral 21. An annular end face 22 defines the upper end of the body, while the lower end of the body is defined by an annular end face 23.

As will be explained more fully hereinafter, part of the water constituting the spray produced by the sprinkler is discharged directly from the body for distribution over the lawn. Such direct discharge of water from the body occurs through a top opening 24 defined by the rim or inner periphery of the end face 22.

The passage 20 is frusto-conical in the upper end thereof. In the lower end of the body there is a counterbore 26, which receives an annular bearing sleeve 27, the bearing sleeve being force-fitted into the counterbore and thereby made an integral part of the body, whereby the lower end face 23 of the body constitutes or is the same as the lower or downwardly facing annular end face of the bearing sleeve, such end face being herein referred to as bearing shoulder. The bearing sleeve has an axially extending passage 28 formed therein, constituting a continuation of the body passage 20.

The passage 28 is of out-of-round configuration in cross-section, as appears in Fig. 3. More particularly, the form of the passage shown in Fig. 3 is generally triangular in cross-section, the same having been made for purposes of convenience in manufacture by means of a bore represented at 29 and three longitudinally extending recesses or grooves 39, forming respective corners of such triangular configuration.

Arranged longitudinally in the body passage 20 is a tubular stem 32 of greater length than the passage where by the stem extends above the discharge opening 24 and through the passage 28 of the bearing sleeve. The stem is smaller in outside diameter than the body passage and the uper part thereof is circular in cross-section. Reference numeral 34 designates an axially extending passage or bore of the stem, the same being open at the lower end thereof to provide a water inlet opening 35. The stem is movable longitudinally in the body passage and is moved upwardly to the position thereof shown in Fig. 1 by the force of water flowing upwardly in the riser 16. The extent to which the stem may be moved upwardly in the body is limited by a collar 37 fixed around the lower end of the stem as by means of a detent 33 pressed into the outside surface of the stern. A washer 39 is positioned on the stem between the collar and the bearing sleeve 27, the washer being freely rotatable on the stem.

The stem is out-oi round configuration in cross-secion in that length thereof designated by numeral 41 which is located within the passage 28 of the bearing sleeve. Such section 411 is made triangular in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby the apexes of such triangular configuration become received in respective grooves of the passage 28, so that the stem is loosely keyed in effect in the passage 28. Thus the stem is non-rotatable on its axis. The length of the triangular section 41 is such that the stem may drop down into the body to an extent explained more fully hereinafter.

Adjacent the upper end of the stem is a circumferentially arranged series of orifices 44, through which streams of water flow radially outwardly from the stern, there being four such orifices in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The upper end of the stem passage 34 is 5 closed by a plug 45, which extends downwardly into the stem. The lower end of the plug is conical, as shown at 46, and the apex of such conical end extends downwardly in the stern beyond the circumference of each of the orifices 44. To simplify manufacture of the stem, the orifices 44- are formed to extend radially inwardly of the stern wall. Such construction tends to cause the stream flowing from the orifices to be directed in a horizontal plane from the stem; however, the conical end 46 of the plug deflects the streams of water flowing out through such orifices upwardly.

Above the orifices 44 is a head 48 arranged as a collar around the upper end of the stem. The under face of the head 48 is designated by reference numeral 49. The head is preferably larger in diameter than the discharge opening 24, whereby the head covers the discharge opening when water in the sprinkler is turned off and the stem drops down in the body, thus covering the body passage to prevent entrance of foreign matter into the sprinkler. 4

The under face 49 of the head 48 is of wavy or undulating configuration, providing a plurality of relatively upwardly inclined sections 5t alternating with relatively downwardly inclined sections 51. There are four such upwardly inclined sections 54 and alike number of downwardly inclined sections 51 in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, to correspond with the number of orifices'44, and these sections are arranged with respect to the orifices such that the upwardly inclined sections 5d are immediately above respective orifices 44, while the downwardly inclined sections 51 are disposed between adjacent sets of orifices.

The body has a plurality of ports 54 formed therein extending through the wall of the body and directed at an angle with respect to the body passage for causing 40 streams of water to enter the body passage and spiral or rotate around and upwardly in the body passage. In Fig.

2 of the drawing, these ports are shown as being substantially tangential with respect to the body passage 20 and are four in number. The swirl of water in the body passage resulting from the slant of the ports 54 causes the stem 33 to revolve or gyrate within the passage with the axis of the stem being inclined with respect to the axis of the passage. Thus the stern contacts the inside edge or rim on the lower end of the body in the bearing sleeve, while at its upper end it contacts the rim of the top. opening 24.

The sprinkler body is mounted on the upper end of the riser 16 by means of a sprinkler head 57 of conventional design and having internal screw threads 58 engageable with the screw threads on the upper end of the riser. The body is smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the riser, thus to provide for flow of water upwardly around the body to the tangential ports 54. The head 57 has a central recess 59 for receiving a flange portion 60 60 around the upper end of the body. This recess 59 also serves to receive the upper end of the stem, including the stem head 48, when the stem drops down in the body passage to its stand-by position. Thus the stem head is protected by the sprinkler head 57 from being damaged as the result of traffic over the lawn.

As stated above, the stem is caused to gyrate within the passage by the swirl of water produced in the body passage from flow of water through the ports 54. The water 1 in the passage and around the stem leaves the passage through the discharge opening 24. in the top of the body. The upward movement of such waterlin the body passage raises the stem to the position thereof shown in Fig. 1. Water from the riser also flows upwardly into the stem through the inlet opening 35 and outwardly through the orifices 44 in strong streams. .Inasmuch as the stem is pivotally associated at section 41 thereof in the bearing sleeve as a result of the loosely keyed structure described above, the upper end of the stem will be caused by the swirl of water in the passage togyrate around the passage in contact with the rim of the top opening 24. Thus the streams of water from the respectiveorifices move not only in a horizontal plane, i. e., partially around the sprinkler, but also upwardly and downwardly, thereby to evenly distribute water from the sprinkler over the full area of the lawn between the sprinkler and the area perimeter. The perimeter of the sprayed area is reached by water from the orifices 44. That portion of the area immediately around the sprinkler is sprayed by water discharged from the body passage 20, which, upon striking the under face of the stem head 48 is deflected radially outwardly from the sprinkler. Also such water as is discharged from the passage 20 is carried outwardly from the sprinkler by the force of water discharged from the respective orifices 44.

A fuller description of the characteristics of the water distribution pattern developed by sprinklers of the general type herein described is set forth in my Patent No. 2,639,191, referred to above. In that patent, however, the stern of the sprinkler is not loosely keyed in the body,

but instead is freely rotatable on its axis, whereby the V respective streams of water from the stem orifices travel entirely around the sprinkler, and cover an area of circular form. In the present invention, however, the stem is not rotatable on its axis, with the result that each of the four streams from the orifices 44 cover but one-fourth of the total area being sprinkled.

The particular configuration of the undulating under face 49 of the stern head in association with four orifices 44 makes it possible to sprinkle a substantially square area of the lawn. The relatively upwardly inclined sections 50 allow the streams from their respective orifices to be carried out to respective corners of such square area, while the adjacent downwardly inclined sections 51, on each side of the upwardly inclined sections 5i), deflect the combined streamsfrom the orifices and from the passage 20 in a manner such that the water is not distributed to as far a distance along the sides of such square area as is thecase for the corners of that area.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7 of t.-e drawing, there is shown a stem head constructed according to the present invention and having but two oppositely disposed orifices 44 therein, while the stern head 43 has but two upwardly inclined-sections 56' on its under face alternating with the two downwardly inclined sections 51'. Such stern head is especially designed for distributing water over a long generally rectangular area 65, whereby a sprinkler constructed according to Fig. 6 is especially well suited for sprinkling narrow parkways between a sidewalk and a street.

In Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawing, another form of a stem is illustrated and designated generally by'reference numeral 80, the stem head 81 thereof and the under face 82 being so conformed as to produce a sprinkled area 83 of generally right triangular configuration. The hypotenuse of such triangular area is designated by numeral 34. The stem -has an elongate slot 85 formed therein to extend transversely with respect to the stem. The under face 82 of the stem head has a relatively downa'ardly inclined sector 86 positioned directly above the center of the slot 85. Adjacent and on each side of the sector 86 there are relatively upwardly inclined sectors 87 and these allow water from the ends of the slot orifice to carry to a farther distance than water. from the central part of the slot, thus to form the triangular area 83.

In Figs. 10 and 11, there is shown still another modified form of stem head, represented generally by reference numeral 90 and having four orifices 91 arranged in oppositely directed sets. The head 92 of stem 99 is contoured generally like that of the head shown in Fig. 6.

The area 93 covered by the sprinkler head 9% will be wider than the narrow area shown in Fig. 7 but will be generally rectangular in outline.

Fig. 12 has been included in the drawing to illustrate the manner in which even distribution of water is obtained over the sprinkled area adjacent the sprinkler to the perimeter of the area. The drawing shows a stream of water 95 produced by an orifice 44 and a discharge of water 96 from a body passage 20. The water 96 is deflected by the under face of a head 48 and is carried outwardly by the stream 95, whereby water is distributed evenly from adjacent the sprinkler to the perimeter of the area being sprinkled.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in what I have conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom Within the scope of my invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent structures.

Having described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A fluid discharge device comprising a body having an inside wall defining an open-ended passage extending through the body, one end of the passage defining a fluid discharge opening for the body, the other end opening of the passage being defined by a shoulder facing in a direction away from said discharge opening, said shoulder having an inside edge outlining said other end opening in an out-of-round configuration, a tubular stem having an outlet end portion and an inlet end, said outlet end portion having an orifice formed therein, the stem being arranged longitudinally in the passage with said outlet end portion projecting outwardly beyond said discharge opening of the body and with the inlet end of the stem extending through said other end opening of the body, means on the stem engageable with the shoulder preventing removal of the stem in a direction out through the discharge opening, at least that portion of the stem disposed Within said edge being of out-of-round configuration and of smaller cross-sectional area than said other end opening of the body whereby the stem is not freely rotatable on its axis, the body having an angularly directed port formed therein for flow of fiuid from outside the body to within said passage for imparting rotary motion to fluid within the passage thereby to gyrate the stem in the passage.

2. A fluid discharge device comprising a body having an inside wall defining an open-ended passage extending through the body, one end of the passage defining a fluid discharge opening for the body, the other end opening of the passage being defined by a shoulder facing in a direction away from said discharge opening, said shoulder having an inside edge outlining said other end opening in an out-of-round configuration, a tubular stem having a fluid outlet end portion and a fluid inlet end, said outlet end portion having an orifice formed therein in the side wall of the stem, a deflector head fixed around the stem between said orifice and the extreme end of the outlet end portion, the stern being arranged longitudinally in the passage with the outlet end portion projecting outwardly beyond said discharge opening of the body and with the inlet end of the stem extending through said other end opening of the body, means on the stem engageable with the shoulder preventing removal of the stem in a direction out through the discharge opening, at least that portion of the stem disposed within said edge being of out-ofround configuration and of smaller cross-sectional area than said other end opening of the body whereby the stem is not freely rotatable on its axis, the body having an angularly directed port formed therein for flow of fluid from outside the body to within said passage for imparting rotary motion to fluid within the passage thereby to gyrate the stem in the passage.

3. A lawn sprinkler comprising a body having an inside wall defining a vertically disposed and open-ended passage extending through the body, the upper end of the passage defining a Water discharge opening, the other end opening of the passage being defined by an inside edge of a shoulder of the body facing in a direction away from said discharge opening, said edge being out-of-round in outline, a tubular stem having an outlet end portion and an inlet end, a deflector head fixed on the stem in the outlet end portion thereof, the head having an outwardly extending under-face, the outlet end portion having an orifice formed therein in the side wall of the stem adjacent said under-face, a first section of the under-face above said orifice being inclined with respect to the axis of the stem to an angle different from sections of the underface proximate said first section, the stern being arranged longitudinally in the passage with the outlet end portion thereof projecting outwardly beyond said discharge opening and with the inlet end of the stem extending through said other end opening of the body, means on the stem engageable with the shoulder preventing removal of the stem vertically through the discharge opening, at least that portion of the stem disposed within said edge being of out-of-round cross-sectional configuration and of smaller cross-sectional area than said other end opening of the body whereby the stem is not freely rotatable on its axis, the body having an angularly directed port formed therein for flow of water from outside the body to within the passage for imparting rotary motion to water within the passage thereby to gyrate the stem in the passage.

4. A lawn sprinkler according to claim 3 in which said edge and said out-of-round portion of the stem are generally triangular in configuration.

5. A lawn sprinkler according to claim 3 in which said first section is inclined upwardly from the horizontal.

6. A lawn sprinkler according to claim 3 in which said first section is inclined downwardly from the horizontal.

7. A lawn sprinkler according to claim 3 in which said orifice is a slot extending transversely with respect to the stem.

8. A fluid discharge device according to claim 1 in which said outlet end portion of the stem has only two orifices formed therein and said orifices are oppositely disposed with respect to each other on the stem.

9. A fluid discharge device according to claim 1 in which said outlet end portion of the stern has four orifices formed therein and said orifices are spaced uniformly around the stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,128,552 Rader Aug. 30, 1938 2,184,954 Conn Dec. 26, 1939 2,744,786 Whitehead May 8, 1952 2,639,191 Hruby May 19, 1953 2,711,925 King June 28, 1955 

